GoManyLA

History — Indigenous Heritage

The Choctaw-Apache Tribe of Ebarb

Louisiana's second-largest tribe, rooted in the Spanish colonial frontier — a lineage woven from four distinct peoples across three centuries.

7,000+
Enrolled Citizens
1978
State Recognition
2×
Annual Powwow
4
Founding Lineages

Officially Recognized — 1978

Origins & Identity

Officially recognized by the State of Louisiana in 1978, the Choctaw-Apache Tribe of Ebarb is the state's second-largest tribe with over 7,000 enrolled citizens. Their lineage is a complex, resilient tapestry woven from Lipan Apache captives, Choctaw hunters, Adai natives, and Spanish soldier-settlers from the 18th-century Los Adaes presidio.

  • Lipan Apache — freed captives from Spanish missions
  • Choctaw — hunters and traders of the Sabine bottomlands
  • Adai — original native inhabitants of the region
  • Spanish colonists — soldiers of the Los Adaes presidio

1964 – 1969 — Toledo Bend Reservoir

Displacement & Resilience

For centuries, the tribe thrived in the isolated bottomlands of the Sabine River. Between 1964 and 1969, the construction of the Toledo Bend Reservoir flooded these ancestral lands, forcing the relocation of family homes, historic cemeteries, and hunting grounds.

Despite this massive geographic displacement, the tribe's cultural identity remains fiercely intact. Today, the community preserves its heritage through the creation of traditional pine-needle basketry, alligator-snapping-turtle shell crafts, and a bi-annual public Powwow held every April and November in Noble, Louisiana.

Living Traditions — Noble, LA

The Powwow & Crafts Tradition

Open to the public, the bi-annual Powwow in Noble, Louisiana is one of the most authentic expressions of Indigenous heritage in Louisiana. Traditional crafts passed down through generations remain central to the community's economic and cultural self-determination.

April
Spring Powwow
November
Fall Powwow
Pine Needle
Basketry Craft
Noble, LA
Event Location

The ancestral bottomland cemetery relocations caused by the Toledo Bend Reservoir are documented in our Cemetery & Relocation Records .